Dickinson is delighted to announce stand highlights for the 2019 Florence Biennale, ranging from Old Masters through to 20th century pieces. This year marks Dickinson’s first appearance at the fair, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of its foundation and takes place at Palazzo Corsini. Among the highlights are an impressive group of Venetian vedute by celebrated 18th century view painters Canaletto and Guardi, including the former’s 1746 masterpiece The Redentore, Venice; and modern works focusing on Fauvism and Cubism, including Kees van Dongen’s vibrant Plumes Blanches.
Our Old Masters focus on Italian artists and subjects. The earliest work on show is a rare gold ground panel by trecento master Niccolò di Segna, originally part of a predella. From the 18th century we will show three views by Canaletto, including an early pair commissioned by an English Grand Tourist, and The Redentore; Guardi’s San Giorgio Maggiore from the Giudecca, a version of one of his most popular subjects; and a rococo Vision of St. Jerome by Francesco Fontebasso, part of a series. A 19th century view of The Campagna di Roma, the Alexandrine Aqueducts, by the English painter Edward Lear, captures one of the many picturesque views near Rome.
Moving into the 20th century, Van Dongen’s superb and richly textured Plumes Blanches depicts an elegant sitter in his characteristic Fauvist idiom. We are also exhibiting colourful Cubist compositions by Juan Gris, represented by a still life, Le raisin noir, and several works on paper; and by Joaquín Torres-García. Two bronze sculptures and drawings by Henri Laurens also follow the Cubist theme. The Cuban Surrealist Wifredo Lam’s L’Oiseau blanc, from a private American collection, was exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1972.